Christian Eriksen Proving the Perfect Player for Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs
Christian Eriksen's performance for Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's 2-1 Premier League victory over top-four rivals Everton outlined exactly why the midfielder is the perfect player for Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs.
Eriksen's goal cancelled out a marvellous opener from Everton's Kevin Mirallas, before a rare goal from troubled striker Roberto Soldado sealed all three points for Spurs.
However, it was in some fine all-round defensive work from the side that truly earned the win, and this could represent a real turning point in what has been a onerous season for Spurs so far.
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Pochettino's side now sit in seventh place in the Premier League table, level with north London rivals Arsenal and three points above Everton.
Eriksen is swiftly becoming an icon for the club, and this is aided by him excellently suiting Pochettino's demanding system.
Fulfilling Potential
Long before Eriksen's move to north London, the midfielder was regarded as one of European football's most promising young talents, and this culminated in the Dane being included in the shortlist for the 2011 European Golden Boy award, per TheFootballAddictBlog.com.
Joining Eriksen were Eden Hazard, Thiago Alcantara, Jack Wilshere and eventual winner Mario Gotze.
These players formed part of a phenomenally talented group of young midfield dynamos feted to be the next big thing in Europe—fellow alumni include Sergio Canales, Xherdan Shaqiri and Paulo Henrique Ganso.
It took a long while for Eriksen to finally move from Ajax and, after regular links with Premier League rivals Liverpool, it was a surprise when Spurs became his chosen destination.
On an £11.5 million move in 2013, Eriksen told TottenhamHotspur.com that "it's really exciting when you look at the players the club is getting and I’m one of them. The club is going up, the players also and that’s what I want to be a part of."
This season, Eriksen has looked to finally fulfill his immense potential, and is becoming one of the Premier League's most exciting attacking talents.
The 22-year-old has made an average of two key passes per game in the Premier League—more than any other Spurs player.
Furthermore, Eriksen's most tangible output is in his goalscoring, and the No. 23 has already scored five league goals this season, leaving him only second behind Nacer Chadli, who has scored six, in the Spurs squad.
One of these came against Everton, and it was this delightful clipped equaliser which outlines a growing confidence in Eriksen that has come with a fulfilled potential.
Now, that bright young talent is developing his game even further.
Added Tenacity
Having risen to become one of Europe's finest young talents alongside players such as Thiago and Hazard, Eriksen is now showcasing a different element to his game.
Against Everton, Eriksen made six successful tackles—second only to the colossal Sylvain Distin (7) on the day—and this was crucial to Spurs' victory.
Of all of Spurs' more attack-minded midfielders, only box-to-box behemoth Moussa Dembele has made more tackles on average per game this season (2.1) than Eriksen (1.9), but the Belgian has played just over a third of the minutes.
Furthermore, Eriksen makes more interceptions on average per game with 0.6, compared to Dembele's 0.3.
Eriksen is developing under Pochettino in the same way that fellow highly rated, young attacking midfielders Oscar and Philippe Coutinho are at Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
The systems of Jose Mourinho and Brendan Rodgers similarly demand a consistently high-tempo, pressing game, and players in their role are expected to join the centre-forward as the first line of defence.
It is for this reason that Hazard is more suited to a wide role at Stamford Bridge, despite possessing the guile and finesse of a classic No. 10.
This sets Eriksen apart from his contemporaries, and may make the No. 23 a more valuable asset as modern football develops.
With an added tenacity to his polished attacking thrust, Eriksen fits perfectly into Pochettino's style at Spurs.
Pochettino's System
Prior to the victory over Everton, Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen told Sky Sports, per the side's Twitter account, that "We want to start every game well from the first minute. We want to start quick and press them."
Vertonghen continued: "We want to put them under early pressure & create chances. The support can be important. I'm confident we can start fast."
While it was Roberto Martinez's side that came out the blocks quickest, and Mirallas' fine, curled effort their just reward, what the defender highlights is Pochettino's underlying philosophy.
This is a philosophy that Martinez also advocates, resulting in an enthralling encounter.
During an August press conference, his first after being installed as new Spurs manager in May, Pochettino claimed: "Always the result is important, but just as important is the ride you take to get to the result," per The Independent.
This ride is, ideally, a high-intensity, persistent performance as much engineered to win the ball back from opponents as it is to create chances.
The manager continued that "for me, it is about exciting football, pressing high, playing with flair—this is our philosophy that we want to get down. We want to put all these things in place."
In summary, Pochettino declared: "The most important thing is to create a good organisation and a good shape for our players to be comfortable and to show their real qualities."
Eriksen, a player with an abundance of flair and a penchant for excitement, fits this system adroitly, but it is an added tenacity that Pochettino's appointment has summoned that must truly endear the midfielder to his manager.
As a phenomenal, all-round performance showed against Everton on Sunday, Christian Eriksen is developing into the perfect player to fit Mauricio Pochettino's system at Tottenham Hotspur.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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